Descartes' Theory of Substance Dualism Essays

Descartes' Theory of Substance Dualism Essays

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Descartes' Theory of Substance Dualism

Throughout the history of man, philosophers have tried to come up with an
explanation of where our minds, or consciousness, came from and how we are able to
have a nonphysical characteristic of ourselves. Does our physical brain automatically
give us nonphysical characteristics like feelings, thoughts, and desires or is there
something else there, the mind, that interacts with our bodies and makes us feel, think,
and desire? Also, is the mind the only nonphysical entity in our universe or do other
entities exist such as ghosts or souls? One man came up with a theory to explain the two
different properties in our universe in which he called Dualism. Hopefully with his
theory of Substance Dualism, we can come up with some sort of answer to these
questions.
French philosopher Rene Descartes (1596-1650) believed two such properties
existed in life, the physical and the nonphysical. He broke his theory of Dualism into two
forms: Substance Dualism and Property Dualism. He explained that Substance Dualism
is the claim that nonphysical substances exist, and Property Dualism is the claim that
there are mental properties that are different from physical properties (Barcalow, pg. 70).
To put it another way, properties are what make up an object, and substance is what the
properties attach to in making that object. Many philosophers agree that substance is a
mysterious entity that is hard to explain. It's like a kind of flypaper to which properties
adhere, but flypaper that has no properties of its own, not even the property of being
sticky (Barcalow, pg. 71). Without substance, there are only properties of an object, not
the object as a whole.

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Descartes ...

... middle of paper ...

...to explain the relationship between our physical body and
nonphysical mind. Descartes makes sense in his theory and the objections Barcalow
came up with can be answered. Unless someone comes up with a theory that is better and
can disprove Descartes, I'm sticking with Descartes. I mean, something told my hands
what to type.
Overall, the mind and body relationship is a tricky subject. We as humans don't
fully know where the nonphysical properties of our mind came from nor do we know if
one exists. So far, Descartes came up with the best theory to explain it, but not everyone
believes it. There are also a few objections to his theory that raise questions as to if it can
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be believed. I believe Descartes was a man truly ahead of his time and helped in the
process of explaining the entities of human life no matter if anyone believes him or not.

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- Descartes' Theory of Substance Dualism Throughout the history of man, philosophers have tried to come up with an explanation of where our minds, or consciousness, came from and how we are able to have a nonphysical characteristic of ourselves. Does our physical brain automatically give us nonphysical characteristics like feelings, thoughts, and desires or is there something else there, the mind, that interacts with our bodies and makes us feel, think, and desire. Also, is the mind the only nonphysical entity in our universe or do other entities exist such as ghosts or souls.... [tags: Dualism Essays]

- According to René Descartes, substance dualism is a dual particular kind of matter that has two kinds of properties. In this case, the two kinds of properties are mental properties and physical properties of human beings. The mental properties are the thoughts of an individual and the physical properties are the extension in space. Descartes explains that a person is not identical to a body; a person can exist without a body because it is not a body. Henceforth, Descartes claims that substance dualism is true.... [tags: Mind, Ontology, Argument, Fertilisation]

- In his work Meditations on First Philosophy, René Descartes defines his existence, being the only concept he can perceive as true. Existence of self is a necessity that arises simply from introspective thinking; one exists “since [one can persuade himself or herself] of something” (Descartes). This definition gives rise to a separation of the human entity, as what defines a person is not the physical but rather the nonphysical (Descartes). Descartes’ view of two separate essences of a person constitutes a theory known as substance dualism, which states that humans are composed of two elements: a material component (which is purely physical and makes up the “body”) and a mental component (all... [tags: Mind, Cognition, Psychology, Metaphysics]

- Descartian dualism is one of the most long lasting legacies of Rene Descartes’ philosophy. He argues that the mind and body operate as separate entities able to exist without one another. That is, the mind is a thinking, non-extended entity and the body is non-thinking and extended. His belief elicited a debate over the nature of the mind and body that has spanned centuries, a debate that is still vociferously argued today. In this essay, I will try and tackle Descartes claim and come to some conclusion as to whether Descartes is correct to say that the mind and body are distinct.... [tags: Cartesian Dualism, Mind-Body Problem]

- This paper will be discussing René Descartes’ argument on substance dualism, and more specifically the argument of separation of the mind and the body. Descartes proposes the argument of substance dualism in defense of the view that there are two types of substances: the mental substance and the physical substance. Therefore, substance dualism also states that the mind is a mental substance which is separate from the body, despite both having a connection to each other. This view is in contrast to the more popular physicalist view, which states that all entities in the world are solely physical.... [tags: Philosophy of mind, Mind, Consciousness, Argument]

- The foundation of Descartes’ theory of the mind and body rests upon his famous notion: ‘I think therefore I am’. As a prime advocate of modern philosophy, Descartes was both a rationalist and a substance dualist. He proposed the mind and body dualism theory in an attempt to explain everything physical. For Descartes, in order for material things to exist, the mind and body have to be separate entities. This essay will explore Descartes’ account on the relationship between the mind and body, through his accounts in his series, Meditations and go onto analyse Descartes’ arguments for the separation of the mind and body as two clear and distinct entities.... [tags: Mind, Philosophy of mind, Dualism, Thought]

- Descartes and Dualism "I think therefore I am," the well known quote of Rene Descartes, is the basis of his theory known as dualism. The intermingling of mind and body or res extensa (extended substance) and res cogitans (thinking substance) displays Descartes' ideas of a "genuine human being" (Cottingham 7). Known as the father of modern philosophy, Descartes realized that one could not analyze a problem simply on the common sense level, but that one must "probe to the micro-level" (Cottingham 4).... [tags: Dualism Essays]

- Descartes states that the mind and body are two separate substances. I will argue against this claim for there are three reasons to not believe Descartes. The first reason is that we generally come to know things through our senses. Second, there is no empirical evidence to support other minds. Third, there is a close connection between the mind and the body. Descartes theory of substance dualism states that there is a difference between the mind and the body; your mental state is not affected by your physical state.... [tags: Mind, Philosophy of mind, René Descartes]

- I believe that the popular or "ghost in the machine" form of substance dualism best solves the mind body problem. My views in this area have been influenced by my twelve years of Catholic education. The soul, or mind, depending on your level of belief, was a complete and separate entity and was the center of a human being. The body was an ambulatory device that the soul directed. The idea that the mind is a separate entity and that it is independent of the physical body is the central point of substance dualism.... [tags: Dualism Essays]

- Arguments of Dualism Dualism is the theory that mind and matter are two distinct things. The main argument for dualism is that facts about the objective external world of particles and fields of force, as revealed by modern physical science, are not facts about how things appear from any particular point of view, whereas facts about subjective experience are precisely about how things are from the point of view of individual conscious subjects. They have to be described in the first person as well as in the third person.... [tags: Dualism Essays]